New rules to protect victims of bank fraud following crackdown by the payment regulator

Fraud victims may soon be able to get their money back if they are duped into handing it over to criminals.

Following a crackdown by the payment regulator, banks will no longer be able to fob off requests for refunds from people who have been tricked by convincing conmen into handing over their life savings.

It marks a major step forward for Money Mail's campaign to pay back fraud victims.

Banks will no longer be able to fob off people who have been tricked into handing over their life savings

Under existing banking rules, if a fraudster steals someone's card details and takes money from their account without their permission, their bank must refund them.

However, there is no protection for people who have been duped into handing over their cash or personal details, as this is classed as 'gross negligence'.

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There were 19,370 cases of this type of fraud in the first six months of last year, according to official figures, and victims lost more than £100million as a result.

But banks will have now have to stick to clear rules about when customers should be reimbursed.It means that where customers can prove they have taken the correct level of care, they should get their money back.

Under the new Payment Systems Regulator rules, banks could also be forced to pay into a central fund if they do not do enough to stop a fraud occurring.

This money could then be used to compensate other victims.

The new rules will come into force in September.

But the new scheme will not be retrospective, so past victims will not benefit.

Last year, we called for a change in the law so that banks can return the £130million of stolen money sitting in frozen accounts to fraud victims.

We also revealed how banks are setting up a new system to trace stolen funds.

Katy Worobec, managing director of economic crime at UK Finance, says: 'Tackling fraud and scams is the priority for the finance industry, and we successfully prevent more than £6 in £10 of attempted fraud. However, we know there is always more to do.'